


Scabbers

by Mr_Pinniped



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Children, Gen, Growing Up Weasley, Marauders, Pets, Pre-Canon through Prisoner of Azkaban, Scabbers POV, The Marauder's Map, Weasley Family, alternate POV, lots of weasley kids, not hphm compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-05-31 15:31:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15122432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Pinniped/pseuds/Mr_Pinniped
Summary: In 1981, Peter Pettigrew turned into a rat, and attempted to leave his life and his mistakes behind.  But not everything went according to his plan.  This is a series of pre-canon and canon-era events told from Scabber's POV.  (WIP)





	1. A Pet

The rat was startled awakened by a loud thumping noise and some high-pitched swear words. He peeked out of his burrow to see that a garden gnome had landed just outside, it’s potato-shaped head on the ground and its sharp little feet kicking in the air. The rat heard a child’s voice say “I bet I can send mine FARTHER!” and another gnome went flying over the fence.

The rat crept towards the fence. This was a primarily wizarding neighborhood, he knew that much. He had been living in this area for some time now, living off on insects and scraps, crawling over discarded newspapers (he knew that he could read them better in another form, but that was not a risk he could take), and wondering how much time had passed since… since he had blown his life apart. Fortunately, rats are not as emotionally complex as humans, so he had been able to dull the pain of all of his plans going awry as he had taken refuge in this form.

“Charlie, be the judge! See if me or George can throw the gnome further!”

Curious, the rat climbed to the top of the fence. There were three red-haired boys standing in the garden- it appeared to be a set of twins and their older brother. The tallest boy stepped up on the edge of a vegetable box a few feet from where the rat stood and shouted to the twins:

“Ok, I can see pretty well from up here! One, two three, THROW!”

The twins swung their arms and two more gnomes flew over the fence. The elder Charlie considered for a moment. “I think Fred’s went further this time.”

One twin grinned, and the other said, “Best two out of three?”

But before Fred could pick up another gnome, he noticed a small shape on the fence.  “Hey look, a rat!”

Charlie turned to where his brother was pointing. “Wow! I didn’t see him there! Or her… Hey little fella… or lady…”

The rat cocked his head at the child.

“Wow Charlie! It’s totally not scared of you!” shouted one of the twins.

“You should pick it up!” added the other.

The boy reached down and plucked a ripe pea-pod off the vine behind him. “Do you like vegetables?” he asked, extending the legume towards the rat.

The rat sniffed. It had been a while since he’d eaten fresh vegetables… he crept forward and took the pea pod daintily in his teeth and began to chew. He had to admit, it was tasty….

He dropped the peas as the boy’s hand closed around his body and held him upside down.

“Ha! Mr. Rat it is!” The rat squeaked at the invasion of his privacy.

“Eww, you looked?” one of the twins asked.

“Of course I looked, George! People who study animals have to look! That’s how we learn about them!”

The rat could see a skeptical expression on the younger boy’s face as he was flipped upright again and placed on Charlie’s palm. The indignity of the moment was forgotten when the boy handed him another pea pod.

“He doesn’t look very scared. I think he likes you.” said Fred.

“You should keep him!” George chimed in.

“I don’t know if Mum will let me have another pet. My tadpoles are growing into frogs already, AND my fish laid more eggs! Plus when Bill gets back from Hogwarts next week, I have to share my room again.”

“What about Percy? He doesn’t have a pet! And it’s his birthday!”

Charlie smiled at his younger brothers. “You two are brilliant! Of course, if Mr. Rat doesn’t want to stay with us, I should let him go. What do you think, Mr. Rat?”

“Charlie, he won’t ACTUALLY answer you!” chided George.

But the rat very clearly nodded his head.

“Wow,” said Fred, “That’s a smart rat.”

“Percy will love him!” said George.

And the rat allowed himself to be carried into the house. The three boys opened the kitchen door. A thin bespectacled man with red hair that matched his sons was simultaneously attempting to convince a toddler to hold still to be dressed and feeding a bottle to the baby in his lap.  
“Ronnie, it’s nearly lunchtime. We wear clothes at the table, remember?” he cajoled, “Look, Freddie and Georgie and Charlie are back! Mum’s nearly ready, boys- go wash up before we eat.”

The rat was shoved unceremoniously into Charlie’s pocket as the ten-year-old offered a hand to the toddler. “C’mon Ron! It’s Percy’s birthday!”

“Cake?” asked Ron.

“Cake.” Charlie agreed. “But no cake until you have a shirt and trousers on.” Charlie picked up the clothing from the table so his father could focus on the infant.

Ron grinned as Charlie pulled the shirt over his head. “Want cake!”

The rat poked his head out of Charlie’s pocket. “Mouse?” asked Ron.

“Shhhhhh! It’s a surprise!” and Charlie pushed the rat back down.

“Prise mouse.” agreed Ron.

A child’s shriek erupted from the hallway, followed by peals of laughter. A soaking-wet seven-year-old boy came running into the kitchen, persued by the twins who were only slightly less wet. “Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaad! Fred and George just played a PRANK on me!”

“Just a joke.” said George, leaning on his father’s arm, “Birthday boy, water toy!” His twin held up a brightly wrapped parcel and opened the lid. It sent a jet of water directly at Percy.

“Birthday boy, water toy! Birthday boy, water toy!” the twins chanted, while Percy yelled “Daaaaaaaaaaaaaad!”

The man was unable to respond before his wife appeared in the doorway. “Boys!” she warned. All five children immediately quieted, except for the baby who kept sucking at her bottle. The rat peeked at her. This was a woman he had seen before- he had known her younger brothers, once. He shook his head. She wouldn’t recognize him this way. He supressed his human thoughts again.

“I had nearly gotten them to stop, dear” said the father, drying Percy, Fred, and George with a wave of his wand. His wife levitated several dishes into the room, and the family sat down around the table. Charlie lifted Ron into his chair. “Prise mouse!” Ron said, pointing to Charlie’s pocket. The rat had poked it’s head out again.

“Oh, Charlie,” said the mother, “You can’t have another pet. Put that back in the garden.” Her tone made the rat suspect that this was far from the first time Charlie had brought an animal inside.

“He’s not a pet for me, Mum! He’s a present for Percy! He was supposed to be a surprise but he won’t stay in my pocket!”

“Charlie, I don’t think Percy wants-“

But Percy was intrigued. “I’ve never had a pet of my own before. Will he be clean, do you think?”

“Oh! Yes!” Charlie nodded emphatically, “Many people think that rats are dirty animals, but they actually clean themselves every day! And he’s nice too! And he likes to eat!” Charlie broke off a piece of bacon from his sandwich and offered it to the rat, who took it in both front paws and nibbled it. It was perfectly cooked- not too crispy and not too soft.

“Can I try?” asked Percy. He proffered a bit of his own bacon. The rat stepped a few inches from Charlie’s place to Percy’s, and took that bacon as well. “Do you think he likes me, Charlie?”

“He likes you, Percy!” said Fred.

“And he’s really smart!” added George.

“Want cake! Want ‘cabbers!” shouted Ron. Everyone looked at him.

“What’s a Scabbers?” asked George. Fred giggled.

Ron began to scream louder. “Want cake! Want cabbers! More cake! Want more cabbers!” His mother picked him up and bounced him a bit, saying “We’ll have cake in a little bit, Ronnikins. But sandwiches first.”

“Noooooooo! No sanwich! Want cabbers!” His wails faded as his mother carried him out of the room, trying to soothe him and also wondering what a “cabbers” was.

Percy was gently running a finger down the rat’s back. “Scabbers is not a bad name for a rat,” he mused. “What do you think, little guy? Are you Scabbers?”

And the rat was happy to curl up in the boy’s lap and forget his old names, forget his old mistakes, and just be Scabbers.

 


	2. A Return

Scabbers was awakened when Percy burst into his bedroom and ran to Scabbers’ cage.“I can’t take you to Hogwarts, Scabbers!” Percy cried dramatically. 

“Percy, I promise you can bring your rat,” said Bill, following Percy into the room.

“The list SAYS ‘Owl, Cat, or Toad’ though!I don’t want to break the rules!I want to be a prefect like you someday!”

Bill chuckled.“Yes, I’m a prefect.And chances are, I’ll be YOUR prefect.I know the rules pretty well.Plenty of Hogwarts students have pet rats in the dormitories.My friend Penny- she’s in Charlie’s year- has TWO rats, and she’s trained them to bring her the right potion ingredients even.”

Percy sniffled.“Just because you and the other prefects allow rats in Gryffindor.What if I’m Sorted somewhere else?”

“Penny’s in Hufflepuff,” Bill replied, “and I know plenty of other people with rats.”

Percy nodded, then opened the top of Scabbers’ cage and lifted the rat into his hand. “What do you think, Scabbers?Would you like to come to Hogwarts?”

_Hogwarts._ A flood of human memories briefly flooded the rat’s brain. _Dormitories, classrooms, friends… friends.Moony and Padfoot and Prongs and_ … he blinked.No point remembering them now.He was Scabbers, not Wormtail.Wormtail was gone.Scabbers refocused on Percy and nodded his head, like he always did when one of the red-haired children asked him a question.They seemed to like it, and it never seemed to arouse suspicion.

Percy grinned and looks back down at his school list.“I can use your books, and Mum said she’d take in Charlie’s robes- I hope she mends them too, he’s never careful with his clothes. And I’ll probably need my own cauldron.And a wand!D’you think mine will have a phoenix feather or a unicorn hair or a dragon heartstring?”

Bill smiled and patted his younger brothers’ shoulder. “Get ready- Dad said we’ll go to Diagon Alley after breakfast. Speaking of, you should probably finish your food, since you abandoned it to run around reading you letter.”

“I didn’t run around,” argued Percy, placing Scabbers gently back in his cage.“I was just walking after Errol- he was fluttering so much-“ the boys’ voices faded as they descended the stairs, and Scabbers was left alone to reflect on returning to Hogwarts.

 

September 1 rapidly approached, and Scabbers found himself once again smelling the smoke (sharper in this form) and seeing the scarlet steam engine (somehow duller to his rat eyes) of the Hogwarts Express.Percy had followed his elder brothers into a compartment, where they were soon joined by a fidgety blond boy called Ben, who seemed to be friends with Charlie.Scabbers enjoyed bits of Pumpkin Pasties that Percy fed him and napped while the boys talked, avoiding thoughts of the last time he had rode this train, before everything had gone wrong.But it became harder to not think of his past as the castle came into view from the small boat the Percy had climbed into with three other first-years. 

A dark-haired girl in Percy’s boat seemed the most awestruck.“I thought it would just look like a normal school!” she gasped.Scabbers peeked at her.Her eyes were green, and he suddenly saw another green-eyed girl who had said those exact words, in a boat with himself and a pale, thin, dark-haired boy, nearly two decades ago now.He knew the girl was long gone, but took a moment to wonder what had become of that greasy boy.

His question was answered almost immediately, as the boats reached the dock of the Black Lake.A wizard stood to meet them, his lank, greasy hair, billowing black robes, and sallow skin unmistakable.“First years, please line up alphabetically and quietly follow me into the Great Hall for your Sorting” he droned.

The rat was unable to stare at the wizard further as Percy pushed him into a robe pocket.“Get down, Scabbers.I have to look my best for Sorting.”

As the boy continued to straighten his robes, the rat was able to comtemplate with his human mind. _Severus Snape, a Hogwarts teacher?_ he thought, _Perhaps he was working for Dumbledore and the Order all along.But then, why would he—_

Scabbers peeked out at the teachers at the staff table before Percy pushed him down again. _Snape found out about Remus, but he never knew about the rest of us.At least, I don’t_ think _he did.He can’t recognize me, can he?_

He heard Minerva McGonagall’s unmistakable voice call out “Weasley, Percy,” and Percy moved forward to the Sorting Hat.The hall was quiet for several minutes.Scabbers began to wonder about the boy, if he was going to be a Weasley who wasn’t in-

“GRYFFINDOR,” the Hat shouted at Percy sagged with relief as he ran to join his brothers.The next and final student to be sorted (“Wood, Oliver”) also joined the first-years at the Gryffindor table, and Scabbers enjoyed the bits of the Welcoming Feast fed to him.

Later, in the Gryffindor first-year boys’ dormitory, Percy sat on his four-poster bed, rat in hands.“We were almost in Slytherin, Scabbers!I had to practically beg the Hat to be put here.I was so nervous.I hope I really do belong in Gryffindor.”The rat nuzzled his wrist.“I hope you like Gryffindor, too,” said Percy as he settled down to sleep.And Scabbers wondered- had HE really belonged in Gryffindor, when he was sorted here all those years ago?A man who faked his own death and lived as a child’s pet rat was hardly the definition of “daring, nerve, and chivalry.”And yet, he and Percy had both ended up here.Tired of the human memories, the rat nervously groomed himself.Paws, fur, tail.He was a rat.He didn’t have to think about his human life.A rat, not surrounded by memories.A rat.


	3. A Map

Scabbers was curled comfortably in Percy’s bag, which had been left on an armchair in the Gryffindor Common Room. The boy, now a third-year, had gone upstairs with his older brother Charlie, as well Oliver Wood and Vincent Chung, two other third-year Gryffindor boys.Wood had been excited, he had been made Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and Vincent had been made reserve Beater.Percy showed little interest in Quidditch, but was pleased to support his elder brother (Captain and Seeker) as well as his dorm-mates in their endeavors.So Scabbers stayed in the common room, once again visiting old memories of sitting in the common room with a quiet young man, when two exuberant dark-haired teenagers burst in with news of making the Quidditch team. _Sirius was even reserve Beater, just like Vincent.And James, Chaser at first, but took over Seeker our last two years after Rosenburg graduated._ While it seemed to Scabbers that nearly everything that happened at Hogwarts could bring him memories of his old friends, he had grown used to them, even sometimes enjoyed the reminiscences, as he thought of simpler times, times he had brought back as a young boy’s rat. _No need to think of what happened after school.In school, we were happy.Innocent.Friends._ And now, he was comfortable, where he’d heard no news of the Dark Lord, or of Remus or Sirius, or of James’ kid. 

The portrait hole opened and Percy’s younger twin brothers, Fred and George, tumbled inside.Mr. Filch could be seen behind them, saying “Don’t let me catch you two out of bed OR with Dungbombs ever again!”

The door closed and George grinned.“You still have it?” he asked his twin.

Fred pulled a scrap of parchment out of his robes. “Yeah. _Confidential and Dangerous,_ the drawer said.Shall we find out what it does?”

Scabbers looked up.The parchment Fred was holding was folded into thirds, and about the right size… He climbed out of Percy’s bag and followed the twins to a corner where they spread the parchment on a table.

“What should we try first, George?” Fred prodded the parchment with his wand.A spot of what looked like ink rapidly appeared, and then faded.Scabbers crawled up to the top of the sofa behind them and looked. 

George used his wand.Another spot of ink appeared.“ _Revelio_!” said George.This time, a crude drawing of a smiling face with frizzy hair appeared before fading. _That’s it,_ Scabbers thought _, That drawing was my idea.But how did Fred and George get it?_

Fred looked at his twin.“It does something, for sure.We should check if it’s Transfigured too.”

“Good idea. _Reparifarage_!” The parchment did nothing.George offered it back to Fred.“It’s possible I just didn’t get the spell right.You try.”

Fred attempted _Reparifarage_ as well.This time, the smiling face reappeared.Around it appeared four figures, equally badly drawn, of a lion, badger, eagle, and snake. _Ah yes, that was Remus,_ Scabbers thought, _hoping that if a student found it, they would identify their house.Since we did bequeath it to those Gryffindor girls two years below us, almost as much trouble as we were.Rakepick and her crowd.One of them must have been caught with it and Filch confiscated it._

Together, Fred and George prodded the sketch of the lion with their wands.It glowed briefly red, then the drawings faded and were replaced with words.

_Mr. Prongs would like to congratulate the finder of this article on coming this far._

_Mr. Moony also extends his congratulations, and would like to add that you will not get far using only simple spells._

_Mr. Wormtail offers his encouragement to the next generation of Hogwarts mischeif-makers._

_Mr. Padfoot would like to add- it’s the spirit of the that counts, young adventurer!_

The real “Mr. Wormtail” watched the words appear and reflected on them.It was unsettling, he thought, to see his teenage self speaking through the map, but perhaps more unsettling to read the words of his friends, ghostly echoes from the long-dead past.He had often thought the young twins, making trouble in the Weasley household reminded him of some of James and Sirius’ early pranks and schemes.Had not James, in their first year, use the exact same spell that Fred used in the Gryffindor showers to turn everyone’s hair temporarily purple? Fred and George were, doubtless, worthy successors to the map made by some of Hogwarts’ finest pranksters, but the older rat wondered if he really wanted to encourage the things he had done with glee as a teenager. 

Still, the Dark Lord was gone, for nearly ten years now.The Wizarding World had been quiet, and although Wormtail had heard rumors that his former master had used Horcruxes as a way of cheating death, it appeared by now that they were unsubstantiated.The pranks themselves had mostly been harmless, hadn’t lead to Dark Magic. _I did what I needed to survive,_ Wormtail reminded himself.

“Hey, look, Scabbers is watching us,” George pointed out, startling Scabbers out of his reverie.The boy reached out to pick up the rat.“I don’t think I have any food for you,” he said, with a slight twinge of regret.George set Scabbers down on the table and absently scratched the rat’s head.The Map now had printed the lyrics to a rather bawdy song that Sirius spent half of fourth year singing, particularly to annoy Remus when the more studious boy turned down a prank idea.Scabbers could not remember ever enchanting the map to do that, but, it did seem to be making Fred and George giggle.

“It’s an enchanted joke repository, I guess,” said Fred.“Left by some older students, unfortunately stolen by Filch, and now liberated to spread its humor once again.”

There were footsteps on the stairs, and Percy and Oliver appeared, “Back in a second, Vince!” Oliver called up the stairs.The boy bounded across the common room to pick up his coat he had left on a chair, while Percy neatly picked up the bag he had left at his study table.Fred and George sheepishly tucked the parchment they were working with into George’s Potions textbook before Percy turned to them.

“Out late already, I hear?” Percy said sternly.

“Oh, come off it Perce!” said Fred, “We were just having a bit of fun.”

Percy shook his head and picked up Scabbers from the table.“You two should go to bed.Mother wouldn’t like to hear about you making trouble, only one month in.”

George groaned but gathered his books and the twins followed Percy up the boys’ staircase, disappearing into the first-year dormitory.

Percy carefully stepped into his own room, avoiding the sprawled mess of Oliver and Vincent’s Quidditch gear to his own impeccable bed with neatly-folded pajamas.He set Scabbers into the old shoebox lined with fabric scraps that had become the rat’s bed, and began to get ready for sleep.

But a few hours later, when the students were asleep, Scabbers crept out of his box and down the stairs to the first-year’s room.Fred had thought the parchment was a joke repository, but Scabbers knew it was so much more.The Weasley twins would use it well, he knew.And if they used it right, they’d be less likely to be caught, perhaps having a calming effect on Percy.The boy had always been meticulous, but seemed to be more so now that his rambunctious younger brothers were gaining a reputation at Hogwarts.

Scabbers squeezed himself under the door, and found George’s books piled at the foot of his bed.He gently took the Map in his teeth, and slid it out from under the Potions textbook cover.The original mapmakers had enchanted it to work for them, even when in their Animagus forms.So Scabbers nudged the map, wordlessly using magic to get the right words on the map.As he left the map somewhere George or Fred would see it in the morning, and crept out of the dorm, new words glistened on its surface:

_Do you solemnly swear you are up to no good?_


	4. A Prefect

It had been an exciting summer at the Weasley Household (not that it wasn’t always exciting, with seven children running around.Charlie had graduated from Hogwarts and was in the last stages of preparation to move to Romania to work at the dragon sanctuary (Scabbers couldn’t help but feel a tinge of pride at this, as he had always hoped the little animal-loving boy who had brought him in from the garden all those years ago would find a career that suited his interests).Bill, too, who had lived at home for a few years while training for his career at Gringotts, had left for an assignment in Egypt.The twins were, as usual, wreaking havoc, despite the severe warnings from their mother, who was particularly irritated to learn from Percy the precise nature and frequency of all of their detentions at Hogwarts.Meanwhile, Ronald and Ginny continued to grow- Scabbers felt certain the two youngest children seemed taller every day, although, to be fair, everyone looked tall when viewed through a rat’s eyes.Still, the family was comfortable and happy, and Scabbers enjoyed the quiet peace that had pervaded the Wizarding World.But the domestic calm that came with being a pet rat had to end eventually, and, one morning in July, something happened that cause the beginning of the rat’s life from Scabbers back into Peter:Percy was made a Gryffindor Prefect.

“You too, Percy!” Molly gushed, pulling her third son into a crushing hug.“Perhaps the whole family will be prefects!”She didn’t notice the twins raise eyebrows at each other and snicker.

Ron, meanwhile, was beaming as he opened his first Hogwarts letter and supply list.Its arrival, of course, had not been a surprise, but he was still delighted that he was finally old enough to go away to school.Ginny was looking at him with poorly-concealed jealousy.

Arthur peered at the letter over Ron’s shoulder.“You’ll need your own pewter cauldron, I think,” he mused, “Since Charlie’s old one will replace the one George destroyed.Robes; I’m sure your mother can re-tailor the ones we have.”

“I’m planning to buy a new wand for Romania,” Charlie said, joining his father, “So Ron can use mine, at least for first-year spells.” 

“That should help, yes.And it looks like most of the textbooks for Year 1 are old standards, so we won’t have to buy those.”

“Except for the Potions,” Fred reminded him.

“Yeah, that book got destroyed, along with my cauldron” George said, not even a little bit sheepishly.

“You should have seen the look on Snape’s face when it happened, though!It was—“

Molly shook her head, cutting Fred off.“I do wish you two would be more careful with your supplies- it’s not always easy to replace them!And if everyone in the family is to be made Prefects…”

“What if we don’t want to though?” George muttered under his breath.Everyone pretended not to hear him.

Scabbers was left at home with Errol, the aging gray owl, while the family bustled off to Diagon Alley.The rat crept up to his place in Percy’s room, and napped peacefully until he was awakened by the sharp screech of an owl.Scabbers’ rat instincts screamed to hide from the predator, but he shook his head, reminding himself he was really a man, and looked up at the source of the noise.Percy had returned, holding up a cage in which a glossy-feathered barn owl was looking directly at Scabbers.The rat froze.Errol had never particularly given him any trouble before, but he had a feeling that this owl, somehow, _knew_.

“Scabbers, this is Hermes!” Percy said excitedly.“Mum bought him for me as congratulations for becoming a Prefect!”

The teenager sat down and scooped the rat into his hands.“I hope you don’t mind, but, it doesn’t seem fair for me to have two pets.Don’t worry!I won’t give you to the twins,” Percy reassured Scabbers as he placed the rat in his cage, “But I think Ron might like to have your company- he’s always sort of liked you anyway.”

Scabbers braced himself on the sawdust bedding as Percy picked up the cage and carried him carefully up the stairs.Of course, he really had no choice in the matter.Ron was a good kid, Scabbers had to admit, but he never kept his things as neat as Percy did, and Scabbers suspected his cage would not be kept as clean under Ron’s ownership.Still, Ron was less likely to try to restrict his diet every time he gained weight.

Ron, on the other hand, did not seem entirely thrilled with the gift.He carelessly dropped some vegetables into Scabbers bowl, then went downstairs morosely, leaving Scabbers in the cage for the rest of the evening.

When the boy re-appeared, Scabbers pawed at the cage door, and Ron let him out, allowing the rat to crawl onto his lap.

“It’s not that I mind taking care of _you_ , so much,” Ron said, absently stroking the rat’s back with one finger.“It’s just- I’m finally going to Hogwarts, maybe I can start to accomplish things, and not just be the littlest Weasley boy!But what do I get?Hand-me-down robes, hand-me-down books, a hand-me-down wand, and a hand-me-down rat!”He sighed.

This was the first time Scabbers had really understood Ron’s feelings- after all, the boy had been just a toddler when the rat arrived with the family.But today, he felt surprisingly sympathetic.He remembered his days at Hogwarts.Remus was the smart one, like Percy.Sirius was funny, like the twins.And James was adventurous, like Bill.Peter was just the extra one, the littlest Marauder.He nodded his head and nudged into Ron’s hand, and the boy scratched behind his ears, before depositing him back in the cage.“We’ll have a good time at Hogwarts, I think,” the boy murmured before tucking himself into bed.

And Scabbers agreed- he thought he and Ron would get along just fine.

Or at least, he did for a little while.

Scabbers had allowed himself to fall asleep as the family drove in Arthur’s car to King’s Cross.He wasn’t paying attention when Molly noticed another eleven-year-old boy and helped him through the barrier.He didn’t see the twins helping that boy get his luggage onto the train.And he was still snoozing when the boy chose a seat on the train directly across from Ron.

Scabbers only opened becoming when Ron poked Charlie’s wand into his back, chanting, 

“Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow!Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!”Scabbers felt nothing.“Yeah, I reckon it’s a dud.Didn’t expect George would give me a spell that actually worked.”

“Maybe his whiskers?” said another child’s voice.

Scabbers opened his eyes, and saw James Potter’s face looking closely at him.He squeaked and bolted into Ron’s pocket.

“I guess you got him to wake up, at least,” said James.Scabbers peeked out at him again.James leaned back in his seat, and picked up a Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor Bean.“I think I scared him.” He offered the bean to Scabbers, who crept out and accepted the candy, not taking his eyes off the boy with James’ face.Behind the thick round glasses, emerald eyes glinted kindly. 

_But James’ eyes are brown…. and he’s dead…. oh!_ Scabbers shook his head, clearing the sleepiness. _This must be Harry!_

Scabbers looked up at the boy who he had last seen ten years ago.The child smiled at him, clearly suspecting nothing.But Scabbers’ mind was racing.

_Of course he’s here!He’s the same age as Ron, you knew that!Still, of all the compartments on the train- why couldn’t Ron have just sat with his family!_

Another thought struck him. _Almost all of the Potters have been in Gryffindor.All the Weasleys too.No way Ron will end up in another house, and if Harry’s there too…_

Scabbers watched the two boys innocently exchanging candy and becoming fast friends. _This can’t end well for me…._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene, on the Hogwarts Express where Ron first meets Harry, was the first that I had re-imagined from Scabbers' POV- I just pictured him living happily as a rat and then realizing he was going to have to face some issues when Ron sat down next to James' kid. 
> 
> Anyway, I'm hoping to get the last couple chapters up (set during Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban, respectively) sometime soon! Hope you enjoyed this so far!

**Author's Note:**

> I have more chapters sketched out, and every intention to finish and post them. Hopefully I'll hold myself to it.


End file.
